Welcome!

This site features materials such as photographs, maps, newspapers, posters, reports and other media from the University of Washington Libraries, University of Washington Faculty and Departments, and organizations that have participated in partner projects with the UW Libraries. The collections emphasize rare and unique materials. Other UW Libraries collections are UW Bothell Collections, UW Tacoma Collections, and UW Image Bank (UW restricted).

Images documenting Alaska and Western Canada, primarily the provinces of Yukon Territory and British Columbia depicting scenes of the Gold Rush of 1898, city street scenes, Eskimo and Native Americans of the region, hunting and fishing, and transportation.

Introductory essays, 2300 original photographs and 1500 pages of textual sources about the Northwest Coast and Plateau Indian cultures constitute an award-winning project developed for the Library of Congress' American Memory in partnership with the Museum of History and Industry and the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture.

Selected architectural drawings representing regionally significant architects and designers spanning the period from the 1880’s into the 1980's. This collection showcases design and working drawings of important examples of both historic and more contemporary residential, commercial, and public buildings in the Puget Sound region.

Photographs ca. 1888-1893 of early Seattle, especially the waterfront and street scenes, Madrona and Leschi parks, Native American hop pickers, portraits of Seattle pioneers, and the Great Seattle Fire.

Over 29,000 images of Russian sites, mostly buildings constructed from the Middle Ages and the present. Photographs were taken between 1970 and 2008 by Professor William Craft Brumfield of Tulane University.

A selection of items drawn from the Seattle office of the Industrial Workers of the World labor organization. Includes pamphlets, leaflets and correspondence documenting the I.W.W.'s involvement in the Centralia Massacre of 1919 and general publications from the national I.W.W. organization.

Items from the Robert Henry Chandless Collection of images from China, 1898-1908. They depict images of the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, glimpses of diplomatic and commercial life during that time period, and the early wool industry in Tientson.

A selection of original Civil War correspondence between soldiers from the battlefields and their family members and friends on the homefront. These letters describe firsthand accounts of battle, reflections on the nature of war and its profound effect on those involved - both on those at the front lines and loved ones who remained anxiously at home.

Images showing work projects in King County, Washington established under the auspices of the Civil Works Administration in 1933-34. Through such relief programs, Franklin Delano Roosevelt attempted to provide recovery for millions of Americans suffering from unemployment as a result of the Great Depression.

Digital collection of artifacts related to the landslide that occured near Darrington and Oso, Washington on March 22, 2014. This collection is presented by the Darrington Historical Society as a way to relay the experience, and tell the story from the perspective of the Darrington Community.

Images chosen from a group of approximately 6000 photographic prints representing the work of some of the most well known architects in the Pacific Northwest. Photographed by the partnership of Dearborn-Massar.

Examples of decorated and decorative papers such as Western marbled paper, paste paper, and Dutch gilt paper produced between the 17th and 19th centuries, from Europe, primarily Germany, France and Italy.

A sampling of personal logs, photo albums, ephemera, and papers from the radiological surveys undertaken after atmospheric nuclear weapons testing conducted by the United States in the South Pacific between 1946 and 1964.

Print advertisements published in local magazines, city directories, and theater pamphlets from 1867 to 1918. Themed groupings include health care and hygiene products, liquor, tobacco, machinery, manufacturing, transportation, fashion, food and household goods and local tourism.

Photographs and videos of musical instruments from around the world. The growing collection is housed in the University of Washington Ethnomusicology Division which invites one or more international artists to campus each year to share their musical traditions through teaching and performance.

Fashion plates from the 19th and early 20th centuries of women's and men's costume. Drawn from the some of the leading fashion journals of the time, they depict styles and dress from the Empire (1806-1813), Georgian (1806-1836), Regency (1811-1820), Romantic (1825-1850), Victorian (1837-1859), Late Victorian (1860-1900) and Edwardian (1901-1915) periods.

Images documenting the Federal Emergency Relief Administration program in King County, Washington, 1933-35. This was one of the first relief operations organized under Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal designed to provide state assistance for the unemployed who suffered under the Great Depression.

Professor Gairola was an avid traveler who often led study tours to key art history/archaeological sites on the Indian subcontinent. It is believed that he made this slide collection for the classes he taught, during various trips to India and South Asia from 1950s to 2000. [Subset of International Collection.]

After the Civil War, veterans who had fought for the Union formed the Grand Army of the Republic. Around 1915 local members put together an album of photographic portraits collected from members over the previous 25 years or so. The leather-bound book was donated to the Seattle Public Library in 1971. Only 106 portraits remain and some are unidentified but they all form a remarkable resource for Seattle history.

Documentation using photographs and pamphlets of the construction of the Grand Coulee Dam, built during 1933 to 1942 as part of the Columbia Basin Irrigation Project for the development of the Columbia River for waterpower, irrigation, and flood control. Includes a look at the recommendations for and against building the dam, images of land clearing activities by the Public Works Administration, and the dam construction itself.

Interview recordings from the late 1980s and early 90s that relate to post-war Seattle history and cover a diverse array of topics -- such as transportation, race relations, housing, city planning and labor -- narrated by an equally diverse group including well-known politicians such as Cheryl Chow, Martha Choe and Paul Schell; community activists such as Aaron Dixon and Hazel Wolf. [Subset of Oral Histories Collection.]

A teaching tool featuring a sampling of materials held in the Special Collections Division focusing on the history of the book and medieval manuscripts from the 11th to the 19th century. The digital collection is comprised of images of binding, printing, papermaking and illustration examples and techniques.

This database chronicles by example the history of educational practice and reading, and the changing perceptions of gender, race and class and the role of religion in teaching. Both European and American books from the 18th to the 20th c. are represented in this collection.

Photographs of the political career and personal life of Henry M. Jackson. He began his Congressional career in 1941, first as a representative and then as a senator during a period that spanned 43 years and nine presidents. Jackson was a strong player in foreign and defense
policies, as well as domestic energy and environmental policies, serving as a member on the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, the Armed Services Committee, the Governmental Affairs Committee, and chairman of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs.

Photographs dating from the mid 1800s to present day, that relate to Jewish life and history in the Pacific Northwest, as well as nationally and internationally. Represented here are only a selection of the thousands of images in the Washington State Jewish Archives Photograph Collection.

A selection of photographs from the H. Ambrose Kiehl Photograph Collection taken between 1890 and 1917. The photographs are typical of those found in many family albums of that period and illustrate everyday family life at the turn of the century.

Images from the period 1890-1939, documenting the logging industry and other forest related activities in Washington State. Includes images of loggers and logging camps, skid roads, donkey engines, loading operations, logging trucks and railroads.

The Labor Archives of Washington State has hundreds of photographs and digitized documents showing workers, industrial settings, strikes and union activities, civil rights campaigns, and more. This portal highlights items from those collections.

Photographs of Seattle, ca. 1904-1940, depicting regrading projects, municipal services, and local neighborhood architecture, as well as scenes from the Great Depression including "Hooverville" and labor rallies of the unemployed.

Images representing the landscape and nature photography of Lawrence Denny Lindsley, including photographs of scenes around Mount Rainier and the Cascade Mountains, the Pacific Ocean beaches on the Olympic Peninsula, Eastern Washington and the Grand Coulee region.

Text and hand colored lithographs from: The history of the Indian tribes of North America, with biographical sketches and anecdotes of the principal chiefs. Embellished with one hundred and twenty portraits, from the Indian gallery in the Department of war, at Washington. By Thomas L. McKenney and James Hall. Philadelphia, E. C. Biddle, 1836-1844.

A selection of historical menus and other graphic materials from restaurants and dining facilities in the Pacific Northwest from 1889 to 2003 including the Space Needle Restaurant, Ivar's Acres of Clams, the Dog House, and cruises aboard the Alaska and Pacific Steam Ship Lines.

Images from the work of nationally and internationally renowned local photographers Art Hupy, Ernest Kassowitz, Kyo Koike, Frank Kunishige, Mary Randlett, Don Wallen and others. These photographers were active in the Pacific Northwest community from the late 1920's to the present.

Slides taken by Professor William Zoller, Professor of Chemistry, University of Washington, over a period of three years during research trips with his team to study the chemistry and impacts of the 1980 eruption of Mount Saint Helens.

Photographs in a study of plant habitats following the May 18, 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. Included are "permanent plot views", photos taken of the same site over a period of years, along with more general photos of impacted habitats and photos of some of the more common species of plants.

A selection of photographic albums and text documenting the Mountaineers official annual outings undertaken by club members from 1907-1951, primarily on the Olympic Peninsula, in Mount Rainier National Park and on Glacier Peak. The images depict camping and climbing activities, equipment and pack horses, portraits of members, and a variety of splendid scenic views of the Northwest.

Portal for digital resources about mountains and mountaineering in Special Collections at the University of Washington. This project has made textual and visual resources about the history of Pacific Northwest mountaineering available online through the University of Washington Libraries Digital Collection.

Satirical prints, or caricatures, from the Napoleonic Period, all giving political commentary on events of the period. Fifty of the prints were created by French artists, and thirty-three by English artists.

Professor R. Nath's collection of Mughal architecture. Mughal architecture was a far reaching and highly influential style of Indian architecture throughout the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, with roots in Islamic and Persian monuments. Subset of International Collection.

The Nikkei Newspapers Digital Archive (NNDA) is a project of the Hokubei Hochi (North American Post) Foundation and the University of Washington Libraries. The newspapers, North American Times (1902-1942) and North American Post (1946-1950),two significant newspapers which tell the story of Japanese immigration and Japanese American community life in Seattle and beyond.

Over 600 photographs including cartes-de-visite and cabinet card studio portraits of entertainers, actors, and actresses who performed on the American stage in the mid- to late 1800s. Many are posed in costume and represent characters from popular theatrical productions of the time.

A web-based museum showcasing aspects of the rich history and culture of Washington State's Olympic Peninsula communities. Features cultural exhibits, curriculum packets and a searchable archive of over 12,000 items that includes historical photographs, audio recordings, videos, maps, diaries, reports and other documents.

An ever-growing collection of oral histories from the Libraries Special Collections documenting the history and culture of our region. Included are interviews with members of the Scandinavian American, African American, Japanese American, and Jewish communities along with the Northwest Arts community, the North Cascades History Project and the Gary Greaves Oral History Project

A separate database of buildings and designers of California, Oregon and Washington. Professionals in other fields related to architecture are also included, such as landscape architects, interior designers, engineers, urban planners, developers, and building contractors. You may also view only the items contained within our digital collection.

One of the most important publications for information about West Coast fisheries in the 20th century. This fishing industry journal was published from 1903 to 1966. The digital collection contains more than 5,000 pages dating from its earliest years.

A collection of writings, diaries, letters, and reminiscences drawn from various sources within the Special Collections Division collections that recount the early settlement of Washington in the 19th century, the establishment of homesteads and towns and the hardships faced by many of the early pioneers.

The Pacific Northwest Sheet Music Collection contains music from and about Washington State, the Pacific Northwest and the University. This collection represents a fraction of the Ashford Sheet Music Collection which was built from a core collection donated by Paul Ashford to the University of Washington in 1959.

Documents, pamphlets, booklets, flyers, and other original material drawn from the Pacific Northwest Collection of pamphlets and books, the Theater program collection, and various textual ephemeral collections.

Features images of Front St. Dawson around the time of the Klondike Gold Rush, sweeping city views of Seattle after the turn of the century and the memorable Mississippi flood of 1927. Other photographs feature group portraits, city scenes, and landscapes.

Photographic prints, pattern drawings, watercolor paintings, and postcards that former UW faculty-member Blanche Payne collected or created on her research trips to the former Yugoslavia and various other countries during 1930 and 1936-1937.

Images taken by the pioneer photographer, Theodore Peiser, in the later part of the 19th century to about 1907. Among his subjects were images of troops preparing to embark from Fort Lawton to China in 1900, the Territorial University and early Seattle scenes.

Photographs documenting scenes from Snohomish, King and Chelan Counties in Washington State from the early 1900s to the 1940s. These include the towns and people of Index, Gold Bar, Scenic, and Sultan. Contains images of local industries, such as the Heybrook Lumber Co. and Index Granite Works, as well as photos of the Great Northern Railway Company.

An ongoing database of historical portraits of men and women well known in the Pacific Northwest region and also nationwide. These include among others architects, artists and writers, government officials and politicians, and historians and educators.

Photographs and ephemera relating to the career of Pat Prior and Effie Norris documenting their life on the road while performing on the American vaudeville circuits around the turn of the century, 1886-1915.

Photographic albums containing images collected and annotated by Thomas Prosch, one of Seattle's earliest pioneers. Images document scenes in Eastern Washington especially Chelan and vicinity, and Seattle's early history including the Seattle Fire of 1889.

Photographs from a ca. 1925 promotional album for Mount Rainier National Park depicting tourist facilities, scenic views of the mountain and surrounding parkland, and recreational activities including mountaineering.

Photographs by photographer Henry Mason Sarvant depicting his climbing expeditions to Mt. Rainier and scenes of the vicinity from 1892-1912. Also included are images of his trip to the Klondike gold fields in 1897 documenting his journey over the Chilkoot Pass and subsequent mining activities in the vicinity of Dawson, Yukon Territory.

Images collected by drama critic and theater promoter J. Willis Sayre. They consist of autographed portraits of actors, vaudeville performers, movie stills, singers, dancers, musicians, comedians and acrobats representing American theater history primarily from the 1890s and onward. Some are publicity stills from New York and East Coast photographers, others represent works by Pacific Northwest and West Coast artists.

This digital web archive documents the stories of those involved, as supporters and opponents, in or affected by the struggles over a $15 minimum wage at SeaTac and in Seattle as well as the broader, ongoing effects and efforts at a national level.

Ongoing database of historical photographs of Seattle with special emphasis on images depicting neighborhoods, recreational activities including baseball, "The Great Snow of 1916", theaters and transportation.

Historical photographs and pamphlets documenting the construction of hydroelectric power and water supply facilities built in Washington State from the late 1890s to the 1950s including the Snoqualmie Falls Power Plant, the Electron Plant, the Skagit River Hydroelectric Project, and the Cedar River water supply system.

The Sephardic Studies Digital Library and Museum has collected from members of the local Seattle Sephardic community more than 500 original Ladino books and thousands of documents composed in Ladino as well as other relevant languages, such as Ottoman Turkish, Hebrew and French.

Dr. Skinner was a leading proponent of the spatial approach to Chinese history and the use of maps as a key class of data in ethnography. This collection of over 600 maps comes from his personal collection and covers a variety of demographic and economic themes.

Historical images from Western United States and the Pacific Northwest region covering political and social topics such as women's issues, labor and government, and ethnic groups with special emphasis on the Japanese internment camps in the Northwest during World War II.

The project represents one of the first attempts in the U.S. to record pan-South Asian immigrant experiences in the Pacific Northwest using the medium of oral history. These interviews reflect religious, linguistic, occupational and gender diversity and provide rich insight into changing experiences of South Asians in the Pacific Northwest.

A selection of stereographic views from our archival collections. They consist primarily of landscape and documentary views. In some cases, both front and verso views of a stereograph have been presented.

Over 100 papers written by students enrolled in the courses Architecture 360, "Introduction to Architectural Theory," and Architecture 452, "Characteristics of Puget Sound Architecture and Towns," from 1959 to the 1970s, chiefly taught by Victor Steinbrueck.

The Sundberg Nordic Oral History Collection was a project emphasizing Scandinavian emigration and settlement in the US. The interviews were taped by Edward and Gerda Sundberg during a sabbatical from Cabrillo College in 1976. (Subset of Oral Histories Collection.)

Images and text documenting the infamous collapse in 1940 of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Also covers "Galloping Gertie's" creation, subsequent studies involving its aerodynamics, and finally the construction of a second bridge spanning the Narrows.

Images and text documenting the infamous collapse in 1940 of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Also covers "Galloping Gertie's" creation, subsequent studies involving its aerodynamics, and finally the construction of a second bridge spanning the Narrows.

"Then and Now" photography of buildings, streets, neighborhoods, and parks in Tacoma. High quality digital scans of historic photographs of Tacoma's urban core have been paired with contemporary digital photos shot from the same vantages.

Photographs by John E. Thwaites, an amateur photographer, who recorded scenes in Southeastern Alaska while working as a federal mail service clerk from 1905 to about 1920. Images include the aftermath of Aleutian chain volcanic eruptions; maritime disasters including the famous 1910 Farallon shipwreck; Aleutian Natives and Eskimos, Alaska industries and small town daily life.

Photographs, ca. 1897 depicting salmon fishing activities and some of the first salmon canning companies in Washington State along the Columbia River and in Skamania and Pacific Counties. Includes images of horse seining, fishermen tarring nets, fish wheels, and crabbing.

An ongoing database of over historical photographs of transportation in the Pacific Northwest region and Western United States including ships, railroads, aviation, automobiles and other motor vehicles.

The UW Bothell Social Justice and Diversity Archive documents and preserves the work and history of social justice organizations in Bothell and the Puget Sound region using student researchers to conduct interviews and collect documents and media.

Photographs, documents, and video documenting the restoration of the UW Bothell/Cascadia CC Wetlands, from its early day before and during construction through its ecological development to the present times. Images address many aspects of the science and natural history of the site and its human use.

Photographs reflecting the early history of the University of Washington campus from its beginnings as the Territorial University through its establishment at its present site on the shores of Lake Washington. The database documents student activities, buildings, departments, and athletics.

The UW Image Bank is an extensive collection of high-quality images of art, architecture, and cultural and historical materials. The Image Bank includes images of cultural production from diverse world cultures, time periods, sites, and cultural institutions, and covers most major monuments of world art and architectural history. (UW-Restricted collection)

A visual survey of the art on display in public areas throughout the University of Washington Libraries, Seattle campus. Many of the pieces are on temporary, long-term loan to the Libraries from the Campus Art Collection or from University Departments, or they may be owned by the Libraries.

A pilot project to provide access to digital facsimiles of the student newspapers published at the University of Washington's three campuses over time. These papers are the historical records of each campus as seen through the eyes of the students, faculty, and staff who contributed to each issue.

This database contains leaflets, posters and newspapers that were distributed on the University of Washington campus during the decades of the 1960s and 1970s. They reflect the social environment and political activities of the youth movement in Seattle during that period.

Images by photographer Alvin H. Waite from the turn of the century depicting panoramic scenes of Tacoma and his travels in Washington especially his mountaineering expeditions to Mount Rainier and vicinity.

A selection of images from the University of Washington Libraries' World War I and World II Poster Collection featuring propaganda posters and broadsides from the United States, Western Europe and the Axis powers.

Part of the Western Waters Digital Library which offers free public access to digital collections of significant primary and secondary resources on water in the western United States. (UW Partner Website)

Women Who Rock brings together scholars, musicians, media-makers, performers, artists, and activists to explore the role of women and popular music in the creation of cultural scenes and social justice movements in the Americas and beyond.

Color examples from the University of Washington Libraries Special Collections Division's Rare Map Collection dating from the 16th to early 20th centuries spanning: the world, Western and Eastern Hemispheres, continents, countries and cities. This collection emphasizes North America, the Pacific Northwest, and exploration in this region from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

A collection of interviews and images depicting the protests of the WTO ministerial meeting held in Seattle on November 29 - December 3, 1999. The collection illustrates the efforts to bring activists to Seattle as well as the diversity of the protests.